Well, we received four sets of ballot papers in the mailbox today: One for me, one for my wife, and two for the couple who shifted out of this house more than a year ago and have never bothered to update their address for anyone who sends them mail. We’ve gotten to the stage that we forward their mail when we can be bothered.

Well, we received four sets of ballot papers in the mailbox today: One for me, one for my wife, and two for the couple who shifted out of this house more than a year ago and have never bothered to update their address for anyone who sends them mail

Imagine what it will be like in Chchch...It is still ripe for enabled Postal voting fraud on a huge scale I reckon.(well some anyway, this issue is clouding people's judgement)

could you please extend this with an appraisal of what a spoiled paper will do; and/or how best to register dissatisfaction the the process itself?

A spoiled paper will be counted as an informal vote. The number of informal votes will be recorded, but not the reasons for that (the only person seeing your beautifully drawn Matariki flag is the drone recording your vote on a computer).

The best way to register your dissatisfaction with the process is to tell people. There is pretty much nothing you can do as part of the voting process that would be recognised as a protest.

Really? What if the informals outnumbered the first choice? Or if you don't bother to vote at all - could a low, low turnout be construed as a protest. I really hate this whole process and how we have arrived at this point.

Really? What if the informals outnumbered the first choice? Or if you don’t bother to vote at all – could a low, low turnout be construed as a protest. I really hate this whole process and how we have arrived at this point.

Really. Really really. A vote is not a protest. If you want to protest, actually protest. If you have at any point objected to the cost of the referenda, I'd suggest binning your ballot paper. It's the cheapest thing to do, and will be reflected in the % turnout.

I was mildly annoyed to see Annette King (I think) on the news the other night advocating that if you wanted to keep our existing flag, you should vote 1 (or 0) across all the flags in this referendum. That's spoiling your vote. Again, you may as well not vote.

I was mildly annoyed to see Annette King (I think) on the news the other night advocating that if you wanted to keep our existing flag, you should vote 1 (or 0) across all the flags in this referendum.

It's probably not without tactical consideration, though. If she'd not previously told people to spoil their ballot papers, it'd be harder to later say "See! All those people agree with the exact reasoning I expressed for spoiling their ballot papers!"

Not voting can be interpreted in many ways, the least of which is a protest vote. NZ typically has a low turnout for referenda, so not voting is more likely to be seen as couldn't be bothered/don't care.

Spoling the vote is more likley to be seen as a protest. At the last referendum the spoiled vote was .3% If the flag1 referendum got 20% spoiled votes it would be hard to interpret that as anything other than protest/FJK.

Those Who Rule Us probably have the new flag at the mass manufacturing stage already.

This exercise is pantomime.

I’ve been surprised at the level of antagonism towards this process. It’s not rational; as if this exercise is a disruption of Our Zealand. That the stasis we’re in is comfortable and even optimal.

I’m not voting, because I want a new flag. I believe that we’re better off with a narrative of this process as a trainwreck, so that the next attempt in 2030 is defined as something completely new, rather than a continuation of a failed attempt.

Edit: And because if I vote, my vote will be seen as an endorsement of Kyle bloody Lockwood's Weetbix #1.

There are cynical bastards in our household who reckon the outcome is pre-determined.

It would be extremely difficult to actually do this, given that throughout the whole referendum process there are actual real people involved.

Unless the theory extends to some sort of 9/11-scale conspiracy where hundreds of people are paid off to keep silent for life. Tbh, I don't think the New Zealand government could manage an operation like that without at least something getting messed up.

Graeme – what’s the law regarding advertising? Once a fern is up against the current flag, might we see a torrent of emotional tv spots and fullpage spreads probably featuring all blacks and airforce heros urging us to get frondly with a brave step into a new world?